Saskatchewan Vacation

It's not quite like the Griswold's "European Vacation" but it's been quite a week here in "Big Mosquito Country". We spent the week at a church camp (Keddleston) with Barb's cousins and their kids. It was a lot of fun connecting with cousins and meeting old friends as well.

Here are some of the highlights.

1) The lake turned GREEN! Hard to believe but true. One day the lake was blue, the next day the lake was green. You might think I'm kidding, but it looked like that green drink that Barb gets at Starbucks. What's most remarkable is that people continue to use the lake like it's normal.

2) The Blood Donor Clinic. All right it wasn't really a blood donor clinic because I didn't know I was donating until the next morning. Apparently my feet and ankles have tasty blood because they were covered with welts where the vampire mosquitos were having a banquet while I slept.

3) Old Friend/New Friend. On our first night there, Barb met someone we knew from Vancouver Island. She spent her summer at the same camp that we counselled and led at in other years. Louise is married with 3 sons. She lives in Regina which is a long way from Port Alberni and owns a funeral home business with her husband Miles. The great thing about old friends is that they usually bring new friends. Miles is a crazy man! I think we'll have a lot of fun together.

If you're thinking of dying any time soon, call Paragon Funeral Services in Regina. Miles and Louise will take great care of you.

4) Driving the Combine. Sorry I don't have any pictures on this, but the boys and I went for a ride on the combines with Barb's dad and brother. For the uninitiated, combines are harvesting machines that farmers use to bring in the crops. Yesterday they were harvesting lentils, next week they'll do peas and then probably birdseed, before they go on to do wheat and barley. There were 5 combines, 2 semi's and one 5 ton truck working the 200 acre field that we were at yesterday. They were done in about 5 hours. It's a pretty impressive operation. The cabs are all airtight and airconditioned. Each machine needs 4 computers to run the various processes involved so it's pretty complex. Here's a link to tell you more about what they are like. http://johndeere.com/en_GB/iCombines/9880i_sts/sts_index.html

5) Family Time. Because we are spread out from Victoria, BC to Moose Jaw, SK, the opportunity for everyone to be together is pretty rare. Last night we had a family birthday party for Brittany, Barb's sister (Rhona) and our niece (Sidney). They are all August babies and all born within about a week of each other which is kind of neat. The guys watched the Riders lose to the Stampeders as part of the evening. It was a memorable event.

Today we are just hanging out, playing pool and going out to shoot some gophers this afternoon. Nothing like "Big Mosquito Country" to bring out the killing instincts in you...

Have a good one!